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If there was any doubt that Sheffield's CPU Records was increasingly becoming the dominant force in UK electro then their latest release might put that argument to bed - added to the fact that they have just been shortlisted for Best Record Label in this year's DJ Mag Awards.

It's been yet another vintage year for the purveyors of 808. This is the sixth outing by Jensen Interceptor and Assembler Code, coming hot on the heels of Hyper Reality and Vapour Waves on the Cultivated Electronics and Mechatronica labels respectively.

Mikey Melas and his fellow antipodean Brendan Zacharias unleash four tracks of high-quality electro on the local imprint, kicking off with the heavy but steadily metronomic 'Abstract Model', which ratchets up the tension and subatomic bass to fine effect. 'Kinematics' lulls you into thinking it is heading into atmospheric drum and bass territory, but instead we find ourselves succumbing to more four-to-the-floor with tranquil breakdowns, something that has become even more apparent in CPU's recent output.

Hardcore rave influences are never too far away, as 'Extraction' doffs its cap to the old school with dark choral strings over an industrial beat before switching gears into the archetypal sound of CPU. The final track manoeuvres the pitch up a notch or two with a more frantic state of affairs, delivering a ghostly electronic workout that is haunting and relentless.

Andy Tattersall